Want a 1911 with a red dot? Here we check out Springfield Armory’s new 1911 AOS pistols.
Over 100 years later, the 1911 is still going strong, but that doesn’t mean the guns don’t deserve a little modernization. For those interested in an optics-ready 1911 to mount a red dot on, look no further than Springfield Armory’s new 1911 AOS pistols.
Developed in partnership with Agency Arms, the Agency Optic System (AOS) uses plates to allow for the mounting of a wide variety of different red dots. With the appropriate plate and a 1911 AOS pistol, one can mount optics that feature an RMR, Shield, Delta Point Pro or Docter footprint. The pistols ship with a cover plate that features a rear iron sight, but the optics plates have an iron sight built in as well.
1911 AOS pistols from Springfield Armory currently include the company’s Emissary, Operator and Ronin lines, with each being available in either 9mm or .45 ACP and with a 5- or 4.25-inch barrel. MSRPs range from $967 to $1,378. Further, while each optic plate has a standard price of $130, those who purchase an AOS pistol will be able to buy one at a discounted price of only $49.
Steve Kramer, Springfield Armory’s Vice President of Marketing, said this about the new handguns:
The 1911 is easily the most respected — and proven — pistol in history … With the new 1911 AOS, Springfield Armory is taking a revered 20th-century design and updating it for the 21st century with the ability to accept a wide range of today’s most advanced optics.
We take a quick look at .356 TSW, aka .356 Team Smith & Wesson, one weird step-cousin of a cartridge
The .356 TSW centerfire pistol cartridge was designed by Smith & Wesson in 1994 as an IPSC round. The .356 TSW fit into a 9mm magazine, and Smith & Wesson convinced Federal to load it and submit it for SAAMI-spec approval, where it saw promise as a Limited-class competition round.
However, because of a rules change, USPSA didn’t approve it for that class, and there were other rounds that were better choices for Open guns. Smith & Wesson scrapped the project, effectively killing the cartridge. Federal case heads and the box were marked “356 TSW.” The load was a 147-grain FMJ Match product number GM356SW.
The TSW is simply a slightly longer 9mm case (9×21.5mm), and it uses ordinary 9mm bullets for reloading purposes. To meet IPSC’s major power factor back then, the TSW had to send a 124-grain 9mm bullet at about 1,450 fps. A .356 TSW performs on par with hot 9×21 IPSC loads or full-house .357 Sig loads, but it has an advantage over the .357 Sig.
The Sig cartridge is a bottleneck round, a .40 S&W case necked down to 9mm. The .356 TSW is a straight-walled 9mm casing, thus more .356 rounds can fit into a magazine. The .356 TSW was mainly chambered in 150 Smith & Wesson Model 3566 Performance Center .356 TSW pistols.
If it conceals a gun, you can keep your man card. Here we discuss the pros and cons of fanny pack concealed carry.
The struggle is real: Comfortable everyday carry of a completely concealed handgun can be difficult. It’s not so difficult in the cooler months, when a vest or jacket makes sense, but it’s sure a pain during the summer when temperatures pass the 90-degree mark. I’ve always been an inside the pants (IWB) kind of guy, but during a recent hot weather vacation, I decided to give the fanny pack a try.
Some consider carrying a handgun in a fanny pack as off-body carry, but I think that description better applies to a purse or handbag. With the fanny pack, you’re essentially just strapping on a holster just as you would with a gun belt. The main difference is that you’re carrying in the open but doing so incognito. It’s a very convenient and comfortable method of carry, but as with any carry technique it has its pros and cons.
The Pros
One real advantage is convenience. For instance, we were shopping in one store, and I wanted to try on some clothes. When I stepped into the changing room, it was much easier to deal with the fanny pack than it would’ve been to deal with an IWB holster. Similarly, handing the gun off to your partner—for whatever reason might occur—is so much easier. You might need to step inside a building with a “no guns” warning. Of course, you could ignore the sign and break the law, but with the fanny pack, handing your gun off to your wife or partner for a moment is easy.
Some fanny packs are on the large side, which will allow for you to easily carry other practical items such as your cell phone or wallet, or even more tactical implements like a reload or a tourniquet. If you’re in public and using your fanny pack to access common items like sunglasses, your passport, ChapStick or whatever, it sort of softens the look as well.
Aside from being an extremely comfortable way to carry a concealed handgun, what I really appreciated about the fanny pack is how adaptable it makes you. For example, if you’re playing Putt-Putt golf, you can just rotate the pack to your backside and it’s out of the way. Or, maybe, if you’re playing nine holes while your wife enjoys the spa, you can just unhook the fanny pack and lay it on the dash of the golf cart. Also, if you’re enjoying a playful evening on the beach or some sort of carnival ride with the family, it keeps your handgun hidden and perfectly secure. It also makes trips to the men’s room a bit less complicated.
Fanny packs are more in style today than ever, and they’re a solution for concealed carry in very hot climates and in select situations.
The Cons
I think one of the first hurdles a man must overcome with fanny pack carry is how he feels it’ll reflect on his manhood. This, of course, could be a regional thing, but I know that here in the hills of West Virginia, a man wearing a fanny pack might raise an eyebrow or two. If you’re a bit insecure with your masculinity, you might feel awkward with a purse-like thing strapped around your waist.
And, of course, you additionally place yourself in a situation where others might assume you’re carrying a gun. If you’re legally carrying, I’m not sure this is really a bad thing. During our vacation in a state with constitutional carry, I wore my fanny pack every day and never noticed anyone giving me the stink eye. (My wife and I have noticed that in touristy locales, fanny packs are much more common.) In fact, on more than one occasion my wife and I walked by cops on patrol, and they never gave me a second look.
Maybe the biggest problem with the fanny pack carry is that it slows presentation; a fanny pack is just not as fast to draw from as a holster is. To see how much this can slow the draw/engagement process, I conducted a test. Using a Sig P365 and a Barranti Summer Classic IWB holster worn on my strong side hip and hidden under a T-shirt, my average for 10 attempts to draw and get a hit on a torso target at 10 yards was 1.66 seconds. I started the drill with my support hand on my shirt.
I then ran the same drill—starting with my support hand on the pack—using a Galco Fastrax Pac Waistpack. My average engagement time was 1.92 seconds. Granted, I’ve practiced a good deal with the fanny pack, but I’ve been drawing from an IWB strong side holster for most of my life. With the IWB holster, I was about 14 percent faster, though I suspect with additional fanny pack practice, I could probably cut another tenth of a second, or about 4 percent, off my fanny pack draw speed. But I know I’ll never get as fast as I am from a concealed IWB holster.
Some might prefer to carry a fanny pack on their shoulder. Regardless of the carry method you choose, practice your presentation on the range.
Training is Key
If you decide you want to sometimes or all the time carry in a fanny pack, you should dedicate a lot of time to becoming familiar with its operation. Train with it on the range. Some fanny packs provide nothing more than a pocket for your handgun to rest inside. Others, like the Galco Fastrax Pac Waistpack, are a bit different. When you unzip this pack, there’s a separate string you can pull that rotates the holster the gun is resting in 45 degrees, from horizontal to vertical. This simplifies the draw stroke … but it’s also a separate and unusual act that must be practiced.
I’m not convinced a fanny-pack carry is the best way to carry a concealed handgun all the time. But after several months working with a fanny pack in extremely hot conditions, I’m positively sure that there are instances when it can be a real asset to your overall self-protection plan.
Yeah, I get it: For a country boy, you might look a bit out of place wearing a purse around your waist or shoulder. On the other hand, a fanny pack can prevent embarrassing carry exposure moments. It’s also a way for you to more comfortably carry when other methods are not so convenient.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
We hit the range to test out the Fulton Armory M14, discuss the rifle’s military history and how it fares in civilian hands today.
The M14 rifle has enjoyed an interesting but largely unknown history. It’s a direct descendant of the famous M1 Garand; however, it has a much more convoluted and harder to understand backstory that may be somewhat different from how you imagine it to be.
The common notion is that the M14 was simply introduced too late, and the world had already moved on to other designs, earning it the title of the “shortest lived” U.S. service rifle … but this is far from the truth, and the story of the rifle is much more complicated.
Today, the finest examples of this rifle come from Fulton Armory, a company doing its best to not only preserve the legacy of these rifles, but to also make them match accurate.
The author’s Vortex spotting scope with KDG Optics Hub and Vortex red dot in a Two Vets tripod used for spotting at the matches. It weighs more than the M14 by a wide margin.
M14 History
What we call the M14 today is a simplified term that’s really a mashup of a variety of nearly similar rifles that, due to various legal and technical considerations, aren’t one in the same, but essentially identical for end-use. That word salad is important because the real M14 is classified as a machine gun, and it was ineligible for sale to civilians through the government like the M1 Garand, 1903 Springfield, M1 Carbine and others.
The M14 as we know it today is the civilian model that came about initially as the M1A, a model name Springfield Armory owns and coined. Every M1A is a Springfield Armory commercial rifle, but not all semi-auto M14s are Springfield guns and simply go by whatever designation the company of origin decided on, usually just the simple M14 designation despite not being a true M14 in design.
The entire reason why we have the Springfield M1A and Fulton M14 is the civilian demand for a match rifle otherwise identical to the military M14. The first NFA-compliant non-machine-gun M14 variants were not available until the 1970s.
The Fulton M14 is a beautiful, heirloom-quality rifle that shoots as good as it looks.
The military M14 had a similarly problematic design history in that it was the result of numerous attempts to create a “universal” rifle that essentially doubled as a light machine gun. The need to have full-auto capability was seen as necessary by the military brass, but it was also construed as needing to be light, accurate and in the full-power 7.62 NATO cartridge. The combination of physical elements on the rifle led to a number of issues, namely that it was considered to be impossible to control in full auto, and it heated up enough that it ran into problems.
To compound this, the idea of rifle shooting had changed after the Korean War. The culture of marksmanship so ingrained in American doctrine was seen as obsolete to an extent. The alternatives, however, weren’t promising, and various military groups were hesitant to move to the “area fire” approach that was being researched. Individual marksmanship was always a priority—though the winds of change were favoring the M16, as issue after issue plagued the M14 and its ability to actually reach troops.
Delays and other factors saw the M14 fail to reach high production numbers for more than 2 years after its official adoption, and by this time it had left a sour taste in the mouth of the military and taxpayers who had just produced millions of M1 Garands and carbines without these same problems.
It’s important to know that the 1950s were a hotbed of military experiments and trials designed to bring about the next generation of weapons. The M16 would become the ultimate warning to this mode of progress in that it was initially successful during the early stages of Vietnam, but it quickly ran into issues that caused an unknown number of casualties due to poor materials and lack of maintenance support.
The M14 was a great rifle for its day, with the exception of being fully automatic, a feature that would ultimately be seen as unnecessary and keep the rifle out of civilian hands for the better part of 2 decades until the arrival of the redesigned semi-auto-only M1A in the ’70s. The gun was indeed inadequate in the dense jungle environments in which it was asked to fight—it would’ve been an ideal weapon for the open-ground and forested area fighting in Korea.
The M14 can, in fact, be loaded into the detachable magazine using stripper clips. Note the lips of the clip guide above the magazine.
The M14 in military hands was, in fact, supplemented by the civilian models into the ’80s and ’90s. Because military stocks fit civilian models and vice versa with some modification, aftermarket and match options became available as competitors sought to get maximum accuracy from their rifles. Of interest is that most of the real developments in M14 accuracy came from the civilian competition side of things when shooters began tinkering with bedding, unifying the upper handguard to the barreled action, and tweaking the lugs and lockup. The civilian M14 was basically born of the desire for match shooting superiority, and its evolutions and modifications can be traced directly to these roots.
The fit and finish on all parts of the Fulton M14 are perfect, down to the flash hider and bayonet lug.
The military M14 never really left U.S. service: It was still used in a variety of roles up until the War on Terror, where it was again called upon for direct action. This became a confusing time for the M14 because its most-recognizable configurations were relatively short-lived, such as the iconic EBR variant. Other rifles would come along and replace it, such as the M110 as a marksman’s rifle, but the M14 somehow kept holding on. These rifles have been spotted in the current war in Ukraine and other hotspots around the world.
The Fulton Armory M14 Service Rifle
Today’s M14 variants are enjoying a bit of a spike in popularity, as the ongoing retro trend has pushed consumers to wood and steel instead of flavor-of-the-day AR and striker pistols. I approached Fulton Armory to discuss doing an M14 build after I had so much success with their M1 Garand restoration. After running through a variety of options, we eventually decided on what we felt people would be most interested in seeing: a purest-form service rifle with only the most necessary upgrades (such as a trigger job). The goal was then for me to fire this rifle in the first Fulton-sponsored McKee Memorial Match during the CMP National Matches at the historic Camp Perry—hallowed ground for all American shooters.
The trigger on the rifle is a clean, two-stage military type that Fulton cleaned up and made very crisp but match legal.
We agreed to terms in late July 2023, and, in February of 2024, I got sent the first images of my rifle under construction. The finished product was delivered soon after, and I set about getting it sorted for match shooting. The rifle was breathtaking when I opened the box. For those of us who appreciate these sorts of things, this was art. The rifle is what can only be described as the peak form of the M14, devoid of accuracy-robbing, full-auto capability … and with all the combined knowledge of FA’s gunsmiths. When handling this rifle, you’re handling American tradition at its finest.
A critical fit area for the M14 is in the gas port/stock junction. Masterful fitting in this part of the rifle is required for best accuracy.
In a technical sense, this is a commercial M14 semi-auto variant with a receiver that meets USGI material and heat-treat specs. The parts are all as close to USGI as possible; in fact, some parts might actually be original. The barrel is a 22-inch chrome-lined .308 Win./7.62 NATO Criterion with a 1:12 twist. The stock is hand-fitted, a beautiful walnut in GI contour. The rifle arrived with a green canvas sling and one magazine. I contacted Check-Mate for additional new M14 magazines, and they sent me a variety in capacities from five to 25 rounds. Reliability with these mags in the FA M14 has been flawless with any ammo I’ve shot.
I took the rifle to the range and didn’t bother with bench accuracy testing—because I wouldn’t be firing it from the bench. Rather, I went straight to the old book of knowledge and set up a 200-yard target and my spotting scope, and I slung up with my coat. The old timers will tell you to center the rear sight on the centerline, bottom out the rear and count up 10 clicks to 200 yards … and hold “lollipop” with the bottom edge of the black center resting on the tip of the front sight. So that’s what I did.
The rear sight is very similar to that of the M1 Garand, but it’s configured slightly differently to account for the 7.62 NATO cartridge.
I proceeded to fire Black Hills 168-grain BTHP Match, Hornady 168-grain AMAX Match and Federal 175-grain Gold Medal Match ammunition. All of these match loads were punching 10 and X rings at this distance, my best groups were all effectively the same in this competition setting, averaging 1.5 MOA (3 inches for 10 shots at 200 yards prone with sling and coat). After the initial break-in, I was very satisfied with this and did some bench testing at 100 yards with the same loads using iron sights, and it came in roughly the same, if not better, but my eyes are only so good.
All variations of M14 were present on the line at the McKee match.
The Hornady load produced the best general results at 100 and 200 yards by a narrow margin and seemed to hover closer to 1 MOA, which is tighter than the width of the front sight itself. Offhand practice with the rifle was easy thanks to its low recoil. Bear in mind here that while I’m not close to the best by any stretch, I have shot CMP with iron sights for 20 years and have a good sense of how to get accuracy with them. It’s a skill, but today’s shooters will probably get better results now that optics are legal for Unlimited class at Camp Perry.
A competitor takes aim at the McKee Memorial Match at Camp Perry.
As far as a rifle like this goes, it’s just about perfection. I have two rifles built by Fulton Armory, and I’ll never part with them—they’re just that good. Not everyone wants to fork over the cash for a rifle like this, but in my experience as a 2-decade service rifle competitor, I’d say there’s simply no better option that so closely approximates not just what was used by the military, but also the civilian rifles that have kept interest in the M14 alive for over a half-century. You’ll end up paying more on top of another M14 variant just to get it close to the accuracy and reliability that the Fulton M14 arrives with out of the box.
McKee Memorial Match at Camp Perry
The M14 has a long history at Camp Perry, the mecca of traditional marksmanship in America. The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) runs things at Camp Perry, and the site has been the home of the National Matches for more than a century. Some of the most storied names in shooting history have graced these sacred grounds along the northern Ohio shore.
The M14 Heritage Match was held on Saturday, August 3, 2024, the day before I sat down to pen this article, meaning the experience is as fresh in my mind as it can be. While the M14 match has been fired for a while at Perry, this is the first year Fulton Armory is the new sponsor—the notable expertise and changes brought about by Fulton have been much needed. The inaugural match is named in honor of Clint McKee, the founder of Fulton Armory and highly respected figure in the rifle community.
The author (center, stupid grin) with the Fulton Armory team at Camp Perry.
I met with the Fulton crew throughout the day and was even paired as a shooting partner to well-known expert marksman Brian Williams. Needless to say, Williams schooled me completely, but that was to be expected. I shot the Fulton rifle in the match using factory Hornady loads and did well at 300 yards for the four-position, 45-round match. My game was about on par with my past scores, except in the rapid-fire sitting portion where I didn’t fare well and had two misses due to my lack of experience in firing in that position.
Life is long and I took this as an opportunity to live and learn. The Fulton rifle, of course, was more accurate than I was, but the moral of the story here is that you can, in fact, be quite competitive using a standard Fulton build and factory match ammo.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
We hit the range to test out Silencer Central's fun-sized BANISH Speed K Ti suppressor.
Suppressors are amazing and something everyone loves. But one of the shortcomings is they make your gun longer and can be awkward. K cans are shorter than normal, but they offer less sound suppression.
What if we can have the best of both worlds? Short, good suppression, and let’s make it lightweight just for funzies.
Enter the Silencer Central Banish Speed K Ti!
Only 4-inches long, about half the weight of most suppressors, and has top-tier performance.
Silencer Central Banish Speed K Ti Specs:
Length: 4 In. Diameter: 2 In. Weight: 8.6 Oz. Material: Titanium Thread Pitch: Various Direct Mounts Caliber: .223 / 5.56 Caliber Range: .17 To 5.56 Sound Reduction: 20.6 dB Self-Service: No Full-Auto Rated: No Color: Black Finish: Cerakote Mount Style: Industry Standard Hub Mount Lifetime Warranty: Yes
Pros
Very small and light, doesn't add much extra length to a gun
Titanium is light, but not as strong as Inconel
Cons
Not “Hollywood” quiet
Pricey, but you get what you pay for
The Short Version
Silencer Centrel’s original Banish Speed K came about as a collaboration between SC and Federal Ammunition and was designed for law enforcement. In fact, for a while there the Banish Speed K was only available to LEO.
The idea is simple, a small can that cuts enough of the noise and concussion down to be useful while still maintaining an ultra-compact footprint so that it doesn’t turn a carbine into a pike.
The Banish Speed K Ti features a controlled- flow technology, which forces the gas forward through the suppressor. That's important with such a short profile.
One of the main problems K cans often have is that there just isn’t enough volume to do the job. As one wise man once put it, suppressors are like engines. There is no replacement for displacement. But making a can longer means it becomes less handy in CQB. Silencer Central solved the problem by going fat instead of long.
While only 4-inches long, the Banish Speed K is a chonky 2” thick. Compared to other 5.56 cans that are about 1.5-inches thick, it’s easy to tell who the thicc boy is.
This newest version of the Banish Speed K is the exact same suppressor as before, except the Ti version is fully 3D printed from Titanium. Why does that matter? Weight.
The original Banish Speed K is 14.1-ounces while the new Titanium version is only 8.6-ounces. While the original wasn’t super heavy by suppressor standards, using Titanium cuts about 40% off the weight and makes a huge difference in how the can feels and moves.
Downside of the Ti is that it is technically less resilient than the original Inconel design. That said, Titanium is still an outstanding material and this can will last a long, long, LONG time.
On The Range
This can is small. And light. It’s almost easy to forget that the can is even on a rifle it is so small and lightweight. Embracing how small and light this can is, it was directly threaded onto a Palmetto State Armory 10.5” JAKL pistol. In my book, this is an almost perfect application for it because it’s small, light, and the brace folds out of the way for storage.
The Speed K Ti is not “Hollywood quiet,” but it's ideal for close-quarters sound suppression on a home-defense gun.
Tone for the can sounds good, it doesn’t hurt your ears and isn’t annoying to hear.
Rated at 20.9dB, this isn’t a whisper-quiet suppressor—but it’s not designed to be either. Everything is a trade off and since this can is a beefed up K size can, the suppression it gives matches.
20.9 dB is just enough to knock down an AR-15 into the probably hearing-safe range. You won’t go deaf in a single mag, but you won’t be able to hear butterfly farts afterward either.
For a can that is designed around CQB/home defense, predator control, etc. this is a pretty fair trade. It isn’t Hollywood quiet, but it is quiet enough that when you need to rip a mag with no ear pro on because you’re defending your home from robbers or saving your animals from something big and harry with teeth and claws, you can still hear afterward.
Shooting the Banish Speed K Ti is a total joy. The can is so small and light that it makes range time a breeze. Drills and training are shockingly quick and snappy because the gun feels like a normal gun instead of having a huge heavy weight on the end slowing how it swings.
The Banish Speed K Ti also features “Controlled-flow technology” meaning the gases vent forward through the can. The backpressure of this is crazy low, even on a normal AR-15 instead of the long-stroke piston JAKL this one is mounted on.
A shorter can will not offer the same sound suppression as will a longer can. But, sometimes, a short suppressor is much more practical on certain setups.
It isn’t often that I make something a part of my home defense setup, but the Banish Speed K Ti has earned a spot in record time. It’s honestly a no-brainer.
Loose Rounds
MSRP is $1,400 for the Ti version and $1,200 for the Inconel. Sure, that’s not cheap. But the performance is worth it if you’re looking to have the best you can get.
Personally, I think the Ti is worth the extra couple of bens. Almost half the weight of Inconel is very noticeable and makes for an outstanding suppressor.
More On Suppressors:
The Suppressor: How They're Made, How They Work, And How To Buy One
Century Arms has just released the CA-3, a 7.62x51mm NATO G3 rifle built using original surplus and new-production parts.
Battle rifle enthusiasts continue to debate over what the best platform is, and they don’t seem any closer to reaching an answer today than they did years ago. Whatever side of the argument you find yourself on, having more options on the market is something that everyone should appreciate. The latest is one that will appeal to the roller-delayed blowback camp, and it’s called the Century Arms CA-3.
Chambered for 7.62x51mm NATO, the CA-3 is essentially a rebuilt H&K G3-pattern rifle made using surplus military parts from Portugal alongside new-production American-made parts from PTR. Interestingly, PTR bought its G3 tooling from FMP in Portugal back in the day, so in a way all parts on the CA-3 were presumably made on the same machines albeit in different decades and under different management. When the rifle was announced at SHOT Show 2024 a Century rep said that the company purchased all the remaining stock of G3 rifles from the Portuguese Army, so their supply of surplus kits will hopefully last quite a while.
Otherwise, the CA-3 is about what you would expect of a rebuilt G3. It features original surplus furniture, sights, trigger group, bolt and carrier, and a PTR-made receiver, barrel, trunnion, flash hider, charging handle, hammer and sear. Each rifle ships with one 20-round magazine and the barrels are threaded 5/8×24.
MSRP for the Century Arms CA-3 is $999.99 and they’re available now.
We take a look at the 22 Nosler cartridge and discuss its ballistic properties, practical applications and whether it still has a place today.
The idea behind 22 Nosler was to develop the most powerful .22-caliber centerfire cartridge compatible with the AR-15 platform. It was designed to be so compatible, in fact, that all an AR-15 owner needed to do was swap the barrel (or entire upper receiver) and magazine and they would be good to go. When it was introduced, my initial thoughts on the 22 Nosler cartridge were that it was a solution looking for a problem, but that was before I shot it.
Turns out, the 22 Nosler is noticeably ballistically superior to .223 Rem./5.56x45mm NATO, and it’s both flatter shooting and harder hitting. The 22 Nosler approaches the performance of the storied .22-250 Remington cartridge while being compatible with the AR-15 platform, and that alone is impressive. But—there is always a but.
Quick Info
22 Nosler
Parent Case
N/A
Bullet Diameter
.2245 in.
Neck Diameter
.255 in.
Shoulder Diameter
.400 in.
Base Diameter
.4207 in.
Rim Diameter
.378 in.
Case Length
1.760 in.
COL
2.260 in.
Case Capacity
34.2 gr H2O
Maximum Pressure (SAAMI)
55,000 psi
Pros
Ballistically superior cartridge to .223 Remington/5.56x45mm NATO
Designed to be used in standard .223 AR-15s with only a barrel and magazine swap
Still a great varmint round
Cons
Ammunition is only made by Nosler and is comparatively expensive and harder to find
Other ballistically similar rounds exist that are less expensive and more available
Complete guns and 22 Nosler conversion uppers are getting harder to find
22 Nosler Design
The 22 Nosler was introduced in 2017 and at first glance, it looks like a fat .223 Remington. Unlike many cartridges designed for the AR-15 platform, the 22 Nosler does not use a parent case. The case is proprietary and can’t be formed from another case. The case measures 1.760 inches in length, which is the same as the .223 Rem., but it's girthier. The 22 Nosler has a 0.378-inch case diameter compared to .223 which has a case diameter of 0.354 inches. That translates to about 25 percent more case capacity. More case capacity means more powder, and more powder means increased velocity, flatter trajectory, less wind deflection and more energy.
The 22 Nosler (left) and the .224 Valkyrie (right) both offer substantial long-range performance over the .223 Remington.
The 22 Nosler uses a rebated rim, meaning the rim diameter is less than the case diameter. The rebated rim of the 22 Nosler is the same size as the rim of a .223 Rem./5.56x45mm NATO cartridge and is therefore compatible with a standard AR-15 bolt face.
The case taper and diameter of 22 Nosler look similar to another AR-15 cartridge, the 6.8 Remington SPC, and that likely wasn’t an accident. Since 6.8 Rem. SPC predates Nosler’s round by about 15 years, it made sense for Nosler to design its cartridge in a way that would allow compatibility with existing 6.8 magazines. Why reinvent the wheel? Besides the barrel, the magazine is the only other component you need replace to convert a standard AR-15 to 22 Nosler.
A now-discontinued Noveske 22 Nosler AR with a 6.8 magazine.
Practical Applications
Both competitive shooters and varmint hunters benefit from the 22 Nosler. Faster, flatter, and farther is the mantra of both pursuits, and the 22 Nosler delivers that handily. While a competitor doesn’t care about downrange energy because all they are doing is punching holes in paper or ringing steel, varmint hunters will enjoy the extra energy the round offers over the .223 Rem./5.56x45mm NATO. Recoil is mild and not significantly greater than the recoil from the .223/5.56.
22 Nosler Ballistics
22 Nosler barrels use a 1:8-inch twist rate which means they can stabilize bullet weights up to 85 grains at the top end. Typical bullet weights are 53-, 55-, 70-, 77-, and 80-grain. Because 22 Nosler was primarily designed for used in .223/5.56 AR-15s, hence taking that round’s place, that’s what makes the most sense to compare it to. This will help you gauge whether the improved ballistics provided by the conversion are great enough to justify doing it, though that of course also depends on what you intend on using it for. All tables were made using ShootersCalculator with a 200-yard zero, a 1.5-inch sight height, no corrections for atmosphere and a 10 mph 90-degree crosswind.
We’ll start on the lighter end by comparing a 22 Nosler varmint load with some of Nosler’s .223 Rem. varmint ammo, both featuring a 53-grain Varmageddon bullet with a G1 BC of .303:
Out to 300 yards, there is not much difference between the two besides the 22 Nosler having a bit more energy. As the bullets pass 300 yards and approach 500 yards, their difference in energy starts to become less substantial while differences in drop and velocity start to become more apparent.
At 500 yards, the 22 Nosler drops 34.9 inches and retains a velocity of 1,960 fps and 452 foot-pounds of energy while the .223 Rem. drops 37.4 inches with a velocity of 1,891 fps and 421 foot-pounds of energy. Comparing the two, 22 Nosler has a mere 2.5 fewer inches of drop, about 3.5 percent more velocity and about 7 percent more energy. To me, those are yawn-inducing numbers.
However, the 22 Nosler starts to become more interesting when looking at heavier bullets for target shooting. Here’s a comparison between Nosler’s 77-grain loads of each cartridge, both featuring bullets with a G1 BC of .34:
Muzzle velocity is 2,950 fps from the 22 Nosler and 2,600 fps with the .223 Rem. That’s an impressive 350 fps advantage for the 22 Nosler right off the bat. Using the same 500-yard benchmark we used with the varmint loads, the 22 Nosler drops 46.9 inches while the .223 Rem. drops 62.9 inches. The .223 Rem. also drops energy like it's shedding weight on a keto diet with 1,487 foot-pounds of energy compared to the 22 Nosler’s 1,734 foot-pounds. With this load, it’s clear that the 22 Nosler has a distinct advantage over the .223 Rem.
After 22 Nosler’s introduction, it’s no surprise that other companies followed suit with similar designs. One such cartridge was Federal’s .224 Valkyrie. Like 22 Nosler, .224 Valkyrie was developed with the intention of creating an AR-15-compatible round with increased velocity and performance over that of .223/5.56. However, it was primarily designed to achieve this with 90-grain bullets instead. While the 22 Nosler makes it easier for AR-15 enthusiasts to swap calibers, the .224 Valkyrie requires a different BCG as part of the conversion process.
The 22 Nosler (left) and the .224 Valkyrie (right).
To compare these two, we’ll again start on the lighter end of bullet weights. Here’s a table for a 55-gain 22 Nosler load (G1 BC of .267) versus a 60-grain load of .224 Valkyrie (G1 BC of .265):
Looking at the data, the 22 Nosler edged out the .224 Valkyrie in velocity by 200 fps at the muzzle. At 500 yards, the 22 Nosler dropped 36.8 inches and retained 409 foot-pounds of energy with a velocity of 1,830 fps. The .224 Valkyrie dropped 42.5 inches and held on to 380 foot-pounds while petering out to 1,689 fps. The differences aren’t drastic, but they are real, and 22 Nosler is clearly the winner between these two loads. Enough to make a difference when varmint hunting? That’s up to you.
Now let’s compare two target loads:
Comparing data from a 22 Nosler 85-grain RDF bullet (G1 BC of .498) against a 90-grain BTHP of .224 Valkyrie (G1 BC of .563), the 22 Nosler has only 50 fps more velocity than the .224 Valkyrie at the muzzle, but what’s interesting is at 500 yards the calibers are nearly neck and neck. The 22 Nosler drops 45.9 inches, has a velocity of 1,917 fps and retains 693 foot-pounds of energy, while the .224 Valkyrie drops 45.8 inches, has a velocity of 1,962 fps and 770 foot-pounds of energy. The only real advantage of .224 Valkyrie here is its greater energy, but that only starts to become noticeable at between 400 and 500 yards. Those are some pretty long ranges for varmint hunting, but having 80 or so foot-pounds more of energy could be beneficial for larger small game like coyotes. Outside of that, as the data shows, the differences between the two are pretty negligible.
22 Nosler Ammo
Currently, Nosler is the only factory source of 22 Nosler ammunition, so the cost is higher than if multiple manufacturers were producing it. That said, the eight loads offered by the company spread across five different bullet weights should cover most bases from hunting to target shooting.
Current 22 Nosler ammo prices obtained from AmmoSeek show an average of about 95 cents per round on the low end to about $1.50 per round for heavier target ammo. Meanwhile, the low end of .224 Valkyrie ammo is sitting at about 65 cents per round and about $1.15 per round for 90-grain target ammo. When it comes to .223/5.56 ammo, quality and price can vary quite a bit, but even good 77-grain target ammo is available for significantly cheaper than what 22 Nosler runs per shot. There’s also availability to consider, and .223/5.56 is far easier to find for sale and has a wider variety of loads and manufacturers to choose from.
The ballistic data clearly showed certain areas where 22 Nosler has an advantage over .223/5.56 as well as .224 Valkyrie, but the question is whether or not the differences are significant enough to justify its greater cost per round. That’s up to you, but the frugal Yankee in me tends to opt for the simple, tried-and-true .223 Remington.
22 Nosler Rifles
Factory rifles chambered in 22 Nosler are expensive and there aren’t many models to choose from. If you wanted a bolt-action, Nosler chambers its Model 21 for it, but that somewhat defeats the purpose behind the cartridge since it was designed for use in ARs. The Model 21 is also very expensive. For AR-15-style rifles in 22 Nosler, Wilson Combat offers its Tactical Hunter model for about $2,500.
The Wilson Combat Tactical Hunter in 22 Nosler.
Really, as a cartridge designed for use in AR-15s with a replaced barrel and magazine, getting a 22 Nosler upper to use with an existing lower and BCG makes the most sense. However, White Oak Armament appears to be the only manufacturer that’s still offering any. A few others have made 22 Nosler uppers in the past, but all appear to be out of stock or discontinued at the time of this writing. That should give you a hint as to the future of this cartridge.
22 Nosler's Future
The 22 Nosler broke ground as a fast, powerful .22-caliber centerfire round compatible with the AR-15 platform, and it deserves credit for that. While it appeared to have some very good potential when it was released in 2017, the writing seems to be on the wall that it’s going to go the way of the dodo. While it has impressive ballistics and the advantage of being compatible with standard .223/5.56 bolts, the current cost and availability of ammo and rifles/uppers mean that it just doesn’t make that much sense to get into today.
The reality is that in the current market, other options such as .224 Valkyrie and 22 ARC offer about the same practical performance if you wanted an AR-style varmint rifle. And when it comes to bolt-action varmint rifles, there are obviously many other excellent cartridges to choose from.
There’s nothing wrong with 22 Nosler, in fact it still performs great, and if you already own the rifle it should serve as a very useful companion on many more hunts. If you’re looking to get into a new, juiced-up varmint cartridge, however, it’s time to consider something else.
We pieced together a custom Thompson Center Contender carbine, so let’s take a look at the build process, the parts used and assess the final product.
Even a very brief look at a rifle beyond my financial means fueled my desire to build one close to it. The rifle in question was a custom one-off falling-block rifle made in Europe. It was chambered in .22 Hornet and had magnificent case colors adorning the frame. Marketed as a gentleman’s rifle for fox hunting, it was going to be sold at the Safari Club International annual hunter’s show in Reno, Nevada, for a few bills higher than a Rolex Presidential model.
The seeds were sown, and visions of a case-hardened Thompson Center Contender came to mind with a fancy stock and a Leupold scope. With a spare old-model first-generation frame gathering dust in the safe and a Leupold scope sitting around, the only things needed to finish this project were a barrel, rings and an attractive stock. And someone willing to apply the color case-hardening. Challenge accepted!
When this rifle finally came together, its looks and utility in .223 Remington eclipsed the original custom rifle that inspired it.
Thompson Center History
When it was first rolled out in 1967, the Thompson Center Contender was mostly a novelty. The barrels were all below 10 inches in length, octagonal in shape and mostly represented the lower end of the power spectrum (.22 Jet, .22 LR, .38 Special, etc.). They were accurate, but not particularly useful beyond the firing line at the local outdoor range.
By the 1970s, the barrels took on a round shape and were offered in rifle calibers such as .223 Remington, .30-30 Winchester, .35 Remington and .45-70. Magnum handgun calibers, such as .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .357 Maximum and .45 Winchester Magnum followed, and the Contender was reborn as a highly accurate long-distance pistol for metallic silhouette shooting and as a suitable hunting arm in either rifle or pistol configuration. Thompson Center even made a variant in .45 Colt/410 shotgun with a rifled barrel and removable choke tube, some complete with a ventilated rib and brass bead front sight.
With .45-70, 410/45 Colt and, of course, .223 Remington barrel set; you have a versatile system that works well anywhere with a Contender pistol frame.
Part of the beauty of a Contender is that you can change calibers in a matter of minutes. Remove the forend with a screwdriver, pop out the hinge pin, remove the barrel, install the new one, replace the hinge pin and the forend … and you’re done. There’s no need to fit, check headspace or set cylinder gap. Additionally, there’s no need to re-sight the Contender, as the sights or optics are mounted on the barrel. Your zero is always maintained.
Because there’s a 52-year manufacturing period with small changes here and there, some older barrel-and-frame combinations might require fitting. This has mostly been eliminated with the newest incarnation of the Contender, known as the G2 frame, that debuted in 1998. However, even the most accurate barrels and custom frames can still be a bit tight fitting. The biggest complaint, outside of being a single-shot firearm, is having to slap the barrel down to get it to break open at times with the older models. The older models, however, do have a better trigger than the G2.
The Contender is not the wrist-breaker that it’s falsely made out to be. The .45-70 in a 14- or 16-inch barrel feels more like a hot .44 Magnum than an express rifle cartridge due to the ergonomics.
Although mostly known as single-shot pistols, rifle-length barrels and a buttstock can be attached to the Contender to give the shooter a single-shot rifle.
As a matter of fact, the Thompson Center Arms company offered a kit, including a 21-inch rifle barrel, a 10-inch pistol barrel, a pistol grip and a buttstock back in the 1980s. The ATF brought the charge that such a kit was a potential National Firearms Act weapon because a shooter could attach a buttstock to a Contender with a short barrel.
The Supreme Court held that a short-barreled rifle “actually must be assembled” in order to be “made” within the NFA’s definition. This is one of the few firearms where you can legally go from rifle to pistol and back again.
For years, the author relied on T/C Contender pistols for hunting, hiking and metallic silhouette shooting.
Smith & Wesson purchased Thompson Center Arms in 2007, pretty much for the company’s barrel-making capabilities. In the 15 years since then, very few Contenders and Encores have been released, and their caliber selection and barrel lengths dwindled from more than 100 combinations to less than a dozen.
Piecing Together The Custom Thompson Center Contender:
The Frame
As stated previously, several generations of frames can be identified by the side plates, hammer and, of course, the serial number. The frame in question came in from an estate sale. The hammer is semi-skeletonized on the spur, with a lever allowing the shooter to switch between centerfire and rimfire. The side plate bears the machined engraving of a crouching mountain lion. This was Thompson Center Arms’ logo for decades.
Finding a suitable barrel was a bit of a challenge. The G2 barrels aren’t backward compatible with the old frames, and the older barrels seem to be commanding a premium due to their scarcity. An online auction site revealed a 21-inch barrel chambered in 223 Remington and seemed perfect for this purpose. Best of all, the price was a mere $150.
Unfortunately, the barrel tended to stick after firing. It often took the use of a heavy rubber mallet to disengage it. This was something that would have to be looked into when it went out for color-case hardening.
Furniture
There’s nothing wrong with factory forends, stocks and grips from T/C Arms. While the synthetics always feel a bit flimsy, the walnut is actually very well done. The only problem seems to be availability and, of course, now “vintage” parts costing a premium.
There are other alternatives, though.
The Boyds Gun Stocks thumbhole stock is probably the best direction that could’ve happened to make a true custom rifle. Plus, the right combination of color-case hardening and woodgrain made this dream rifle come to life.
Boyds Gun Stocks produces amazingly beautiful stocks in walnut and a variety of laminates. I went with one of the Sterling Thumbhole Stocks in a Nutmeg pattern, which resembles a handsome hardwood—even though it’s laminated. Fitting furniture can be a bit tricky, as we’re considering at least three different frame generations and an almost infinite configuration of barrels. An extended stock bolt and forend screw were sourced from Ace Hardware and, before it was refinished, a working rifle was ready for initial testing.
The buttstock and forend came with sling swivel studs installed at the factory. A Harris bipod can be mounted to the forend if you want to shoot from the bench.
Optics
Knowing that the frame would be case-hardened, rings in a similar color were needed. The choice was Talley for a set of 1-inch rings and a base. The base was black, but the rings recalled the case colors of a prewar Colt Single Action Army. Instead of traditional vertical caps, these screws mount through the side.
The scope in question was a low-powered variable optic in the form of a Leupold Vari-X III, in 1.75×6 power with a tall target turret, allowing for adjustments at 1/8 MOA with each click. Its 1-inch tube fit the rings perfectly, and the 32mm objective allows for plenty of light transmission.
.223 Remington
This has always been one of the most popular choices for the Thompson Center Contender pistol. It’s an outstanding varmint round and a bit more affordable and versatile than the .22 Hornet on the original rifle that inspired this build.
Accuracy out of this rifle is nothing short of phenomenal. You can truly build a sub-MOA rifle (or pistol) with a Contender in most cases. This has to do with the 1.5-pound trigger, limited moving parts during the firing sequence, and a completely sealed action (which can make for the quietest suppressor host), and you get the full power of the cartridge every time. There’s no loss of gas or power bleed-off whatsoever.
Gunsmithing The Contender
Color-case hardening is an art, and it’s associated with some pretty hazardous chemicals to get it correct. Case hardening stems from the mid-19th century, when metals weren’t the greatest, and a heat treatment was needed to make the firearm or tool stronger. It has an attractive color to some shooters and is mostly for decorative purposes now.
Bobby Tyler is a master gunsmith who works his magic with case coloring on everything from derringers and revolvers, to Sharps rifles and Contenders. He vowed to also fit the barrel to the action better as well as anything else that came up.
It turned out that the hammer cracked on this frame at some point between the last shooting session and when the gun was being taken apart for refinishing. Sourcing an original hammer took quite some time and added another $150 to the build that wasn’t anticipated—such is the way with rebuilds and restorations.
The rifle came back completely unrecognizable … but in a good way. Tyler refinished the basic black scope mount in addition to the frame, and it couldn’t have been done better.
These rings were chosen for this build due to Talley’s reputation for strength and the gorgeous case-hardened colors to match the finish of the Contender Carbine.
In a sense, it works on a very similar principle to the original falling block rifle that inspired this build. Technically, it’s just a single-action single-shot. Yet Tyler’s refinishing, Boyds’ furniture and the Talley rings with a Leupold Vari-X lend an air of old-world aristocracy to a very utilitarian and American-made rifle.
This was a fun build that took a couple of years to complete from start to finish. Part of that may have been supply chain issues, waiting on the services of the right gunsmith and finding a replacement hammer, but it was well worth it. The total cost of this project was a little under $1,700, about one-fifth of the price of the rifle that inspired this build.
The best thing about a Contender build is that the options are virtually endless. At one time, you could find just short of 100 calibers among factory offerings, custom shop models and, of course, wildcats. To do it these days on some of the more exotic calibers might take a bit of scrounging and searching gun shows, gun shops, estate sales and online auctions, but you can truly build a one-of-a-kind rifle or pistol if an extremely accurate single shot is what trips your trigger.
The Winchester high-wall single-shot was the first commercial rifle in the United States produced for a small-bore smokeless-powder cartridge. This happened when the .30-40 Krag was added to the available chamberings in 1893. The Remington-Lee bolt action, Remington rolling block, and Winchester Model 95 lever action and high-wall single-shot were the first commercial sporting rifles to offer this chambering. No commercial rifles used the cartridge from 1936 to 1973. From 1973 until 1977, the Ruger No. 3 single-shot was chambered for the .30-40 Krag, thus stimulating a renewed interest in the cartridge.
General Comments
The .30-40 Krag—.30-caliber/40 grains of the original smokeless-powder load—has retained its popularity, primarily because large numbers of fine sporting conversions of the Krag military rifles and carbines chambered for it are still in use. Although not quite as powerful as either the .30-06 or the .308 Winchester, the .30-40 is well suited for use on North American big game. The Krag earned its reputation with the 220-grain loading, but it can be loaded to great advantage with lighter bullets for smaller species.
Interestingly, most authorities consider the 1895 Winchester chambering to be safe with loads at a somewhat higher pressure than the Krag rifle. However, both actions have limitations, and one should be particularly circumspect in this regard.
Bountiful loading data can be found in current manuals. The .30-40 is the basis of an entire genre of powerful Ackley Improved chamberings particularly suited to strong single-shot rifles. The 180-grain bullet is the dominant offering, but 150-, 165- and 220-grain loads can be found online.
CZ has just announced the CZ P-09 NOCTURNE pistol line, featuring optics-ready slides, luminescent sights and improved ergonomics.
CZ has just updated its popular P-07 and P-09 pistols with the P-09 NOCTURNE line. The series features both a full-size (P-09 F NOCTURNE) and a compact (P-09 C NOCTURNE) model and they sport several improvements over their predecessors.
The heart of the CZ P-09 NOCTURNE is unchanged, as the new pistols still have rugged polymer frames, DA/SA triggers and 9mm double-stack magazines. They also still feature three sizes of interchangeable backstraps, an accessory rail and ambidextrous safety/decock levers. Where the NOCTURNE handguns depart from the old design mostly has to do with their ergonomics and sights.
Not only do the NOCTURNE pistols feature an improved texture pattern, but there’s more of it incorporated throughout the frame to help ensure a secure grip. They also feature enhanced front cocking serrations and a redesigned slide stop and safety lever. The optics-ready slide design has also been improved as it now allows for direct-mounting red dots with a Shield RMS or Holosun K footprint, and each pistol sports luminescent 3-dot iron sights as well.
The full-size model has a standard magazine capacity of 19 rounds and the compact model has a capacity of 15 rounds, but both are available with 10-round mags as well. All NOCTURNE variants share an MSRP of $549 and are available now.
We discuss snub-nose .38 revolvers and why they still make sense for concealed carry today.
“I gotta go to the bathroom.”
“You gotta go, you gotta go.”
So began one of the most iconic scenes in mobster movie history, as Michael Corleone heads to the men’s room, to retrieve a hidden handgun to murder his father’s would-be assassin. The gun? A Smith & Wesson snub-nose revolver, chambered in .38 Special. When you think of the great detective movies, mafia movies and all of the books and documentaries of that era, the snub-nose .38 Special makes a constant appearance.
What is it about that particular handgun and cartridge combination that’s so iconic?
One would think that in a world of lightweight, striker-fired autoloading handguns—with their double-stacked magazines and tritium night sights—the short-barreled revolvers would have long ago gone the way of the dodo. But that’s not the case, for a number of good reasons. In fact, for many shooters, the snub-nose .38 Special makes a whole ton of sense.
Dating back to the late 1920s—where the Colt Detective Special made its debut—the snub-nose revolver is easily concealed, making it a perfect choice for the off-duty police officer or plain-clothes police detective. Likewise, it makes a sound choice for those with a concealed carry permit who want the ability to defend themselves in a close-quarters situation.
The Colt Detective Special dates back to the 1920s and represents one of the earliest true snub-nosed revolvers. This model sports a six-shot cylinder. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Oddly, the snub-nose revolver I carry is the same make and model that my father carries (though I didn’t know it at the time I bought it), and the same gun my grandfather carried: a Smith & Wesson Model 36, five-shot .38 Special. You might recognize it as the gun Al Pacino (as Michael Corleone) used in the scene I mentioned earlier. Though many will view it as simply a “belly gun,” the snub-nosed .38 Special is so much more than that.
Snub-Nose .38 Revolvers
Most of the snub-nose .38s have five-shot cylinders, though you’ll come across some six-shot models. Either way, I’ve heard folks insist that the lack of cartridge capacity makes these types of firearms nearly obsolete, yet I completely disagree. As we’re talking about a defensive gun, five shots should get you to a safe situation, or at least give you time to reload the gun. Statistics have proven this.
Photo: Massaro Media Group.
I get the wisdom of a double-stack magazine, but I’ll also say that a five-shot revolver certainly has the ability to stop a threat. In a law enforcement role it might not have the capacity to sustain a prolonged firefight, but as a civilian who just wants to get out of a terrible situation—stop the threat—I don’t have a problem with my five-shot gun.
A double-action revolver is a unique design, which I view as two handguns in one. When the hammer is cocked, and the gun is fired in single-action mode, precision shots aren’t out of the question, even with a short barrel. Sitting at the bench with my S&W Model 36, I’ve been amazed at the group sizes printed by a 1⅞-inch barrel; switching to double-action mode and the heavier trigger pull will certainly affect the group size, but it’s more than acceptable.
I grabbed my trigger pull gauge to measure the difference in my S&W: In single-action mode, the trigger breaks consistently at 1 pound, 15 ounces, yet in double-action mode it ranged from 7 pounds, 12 ounces to 8 pounds, 8 ounces. Assuredly that increase in trigger pull requires a unique skill set, especially when firing a double-action handgun under pressure … but that’s part of the territory.
What I like about a revolver is the simplicity of the design. Yes, it requires some maintenance and you can get into trouble if the projectiles aren’t crimped heavily into the cartridge case, but generally speaking, a revolver tends to be much less finicky and much more reliable than the autoloaders. They have no problem feeding any kind of ammunition, simply because they don’t feed ammunition—you do. They don’t have an issue ejecting spent cases, because you do that. And they don’t leave spent cases all over the place, as they stay in the cylinder until you decide it’s time to remove them.
The classic 158-grain lead round-nose bullet is alive and well, and it works as good as it did in 1898. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
My Model 36 measures 1.32 inches at the widest point—the cylinder—and is rather easy to conceal, though the frame measures 0.53 inch and the grips widening to 1.15 inches at the swell. Though other popular autoloaders might measure right around an inch at the widest point, their outline is a bit squarer and blockier and can “print” a bit more than will one of the Colt Detective models or a Smith & Wesson J-Frame.
Depending on the grip, these snub-nosed .38 Specials can be easily carried in a shoulder holster, IWB holster or in one of the many OWB holsters; I carry mine in a Simply Rugged OWB leather holster, which is strong, comfortable and reliable.
Speaking of grips, my dad’s Model 36 sports the original square-butt J-Frame grips, yet mine have a set of (seemingly) oversized Pachmayr rubber grips, which came on the gun when I bought it used. Having spent a considerable amount of time with both guns, experimenting with both factory-loaded ammo and handloaded ammunition, I find the large Pachmayr grips well worth both the investment of about $35 as well as the additional footprint when carrying concealed.
Those J-Frame grips feel much too small in my hands—I’ve got long, thin fingers—and the grip angle feels all wrong in comparison to the Pachmayr’s. The pinky of my right (strong) hand tends to ride underneath the base of the traditional J-Frame grips, whereas I can get a solid grip on those Pachmayr rubber grips—and the targets show the difference.
Whichever model you choose, the smaller frame and shorter barrel need to be aimed properly, and if you feel a change in grips will help you get on target better, I see no reason not to pursue that avenue.
.38 Special Ammunition
The .38 Smith & Wesson Special came to light as an improvement over the .38 Long Colt. Released in 1898, the rimmed, straight-walled cartridge gave unprecedented velocities for the end of the 19th century. Using a bullet diameter of 0.357 inch—the “.38” name was a carryover from the heeled-bullet designs in the Short Colt cases that were fashioned to operate in the .36-caliber cap-and-ball conversion guns—the .38 Smith & Wesson Special has a case length of 1.155 inches, and a maximum cartridge overall length of 1.550 inches. Bullet weights generally range from 90 to 158 grains, with plenty of choices in between; I prefer bullets on the heavier end of the spectrum.
Who says a snub nose can’t be accurate? This S&W Model 36 printed this five-shot group at 10 paces using Federal Punch ammunition. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Looking at the advertised velocities for .38 Special ammunition, I’ve found that my 1⅞-inch barrel will measure anywhere from 65- to 110-fps slower than the test barrels, which are usually a 4-inch barrel. That velocity drop is to be expected in a shorter barrel, but I don’t find it to be an issue. With the wide range of factory ammunition available for the .38 Special, the cartridge becomes a chameleon.
With a good number of lower-velocity loads, which are fantastic for training, practice and even for carry for those who are recoil sensitive, the good old .38 remains a reliable choice; when you look at the +P—read: higher pressure and velocity—loads, it’s a different animal altogether. Couple that with the impressive advancements in handgun bullet technology, and the cartridge that was released during the McKinley administration takes on a whole new guise.
In the defensive handgun world, we often get hung up on numbers and statistics, using those little facts to attack and/or defend a particular cartridge. Let’s get this out of the way: The .38 Special isn’t the .357 Magnum, the .44 Magnum or the .45 ACP, no matter how many +s and Ps there are in the designation. But, it’s still a respectable blend of bullet weight, penetration and tolerable recoil.
With the majority of modern loads offering at least 10 inches of penetration in ballistic gel tests, even the reduced velocities generated by the short-barreled revolvers can stop a threat … if properly placed. Bullet construction will definitely play a role in the penetration, as a fast-expanding lead hollow-point will generally not penetrate as deep as a bonded core bullet, or as a non-expanding FMJ. But, I feel the .38 Special is “enough gun” to get the job done.
Hornady’s Critical Defense Lite uses a 90-grain FTX bullet, which clocked 1,040 fps through the author’s S&W Model 36. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
The standard .38 Special loads will feature bullets between 130 and 158 grains, at a muzzle velocity of somewhere between 770 fps and 850 fps, but expect a drop off if you’re using a 2-inch barrel. I like the American Eagle 158 FMJ at 770 fps for practice and plinking, Hornady’s Custom ammo line has their 158-grain XTP bullet at 800 fps, Buffalo Bore’s 158-grain gas-checked SWC at 850 fps, and HSM’s Cowboy Action 158-grain FN bullet at 840 fps.
For the recoil sensitive, or for those who want the minimal amount of muzzle jump and/or the ability to get back on target as quickly as possible for a follow-up shot, Federal’s Low Recoil ammo uses a 110-grain Hydra-Shok bullet at 980 fps, and Hornady’s Critical Defense Lite 90-grain FTX at 1,200 fps—though my gun clocked 1,040 fps with that load.
Federal’s Low Recoil ammo uses a 110-grain Hydra-Shok at 980 fps (lower in shorter barrels), while the Federal Punch +P uses a 120-grain bonded core hollow-point at 1,000 fps. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Punching With The +P
The +P loads increase both pressures and velocities and take the .38 Special into a new realm. Speer makes a load specially engineered for the snubbies, and their Gold Dot Short Barrel ammo uses the 135-grain bonded-core Gold Dot bullet at a muzzle velocity of 860 fps; I really like the way this bullet performs.
Federal’s Personal Defense Micro ammo line uses a flush-mounted HST bullet at 890 fps (expect lower in a snubby), and that might be my favorite handgun bullet for defensive purposes. Federal’s +P Punch line uses a 120-grain jacketed hollow-point at 1,000 fps, and their Personal Defense line offers a 130-grain Hydra-Shok Deep at 900 fps. Winchester’s PDX Defender +P load is built around a 130-grain bonded-core hollow-point moving at an advertised 950 fps, giving a sound blend of expansion and penetration.
Winchester’s PDX1 Defender line pushes the .38 Special Into the +P territory, with their 130-grain bonded core JHP. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
The concerns over firing +P loads in a vintage handgun—say from the early 20th century where the metallurgy and construction wasn’t what we have today—are a real thing, but I’ve fired a whole bunch in my S&W from the early 1980s without issue. Take care with yours and seek advice from a gunsmith if you’re unsure.
Because of the age of the cartridge and the firearms produced for it early on, the .38 Special is much like the 7×57 Mauser and the .45-70 Government in that there seems to be two separate iterations of the same cartridge. If you have a modern handgun, you can take full advantage of both the traditional loads and the +P loads, though I’ll advise you to avoid firing too many of those +P loads from the short-barreled guns without hearing protection; they can flatten your eardrums.
Handloaded 158-grain SWC cast bullets, over a load of Unique, can offer a great experience for pennies on the dollar. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Handloading for the .38 Special is a simple affair, as a pound of TiteGroup or Unique will give over 1,000 shots, and you can easily pour some wadcutters for practice, or gas-checked bullets for daily carry (my dad still likes cast lead bullets in his S&W revolver). The case uses a small pistol primer, and make sure you put a good crimp on your bullet to prevent them from pulling out of the case under recoil and jamming up your cylinder.
The Choice
I chose the .38 Special because it has that wide selection of ammunition choices, is easily concealed and is a pleasure to shoot. Its recoil is much less than that of the .357 Magnum or the .44s, yet it surpasses the .32s in bullet weight, if not in speed. While the results of the 1986 Miami shootout did show the cartridge’s shortcomings at longer ranges, I rely on my .38 Special for personal defensive purposes, the vast majority of which are conducted at ranges inside of 10 yards.
It is affordable—in both factory ammunition and handloaded stuff—to practice with, and in spite of my snubby having a sighting radius of just 3½ inches, it shoots surprisingly well. It’s been relied upon since the 1920s, and I wouldn’t be surprised if folks were still carrying a snub-nose .38 a century from now.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the 2022 Everyday Carry special issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
The best long-range cartridges are those that are flat shooting, feature aerodynamic projectiles and have enough power to go the distance. Find out which ones made the cut.
You know what they say about opinions. Yep, when it comes to long-range shooting and the best cartridges for the job, everyone’s got one.
Really though, some cartridges simply outperform others at long ranges. That’s why so many competitive shooters and others who shoot at targets visible only through a spotting scope choose just a handful of calibers.
Some, like the .308, are as popular as the most common hunting cartridges, while others are a bit more obscure, making headlines only in the tight-knit long-distance competitive shooting community. No matter who uses them, they have one thing in common: They hit their mark at quadruple-digit ranges.
The .220 Swift has somewhat better ballistics than other .22 centerfires, but with the growth in popularity of .223/5.56 firearms, the super-fast Swift has fallen out of favor with shooters. As such, factory-loaded ammo choices that are made specifically for long-range shooting are virtually non-existent. That’s why the .22-250 is a superb stand-in. It’s fast, flat and accurate, and although it has a relatively low ballistic coefficient, it’s a good choice for long-range varmints and even steel.
Black Hills’ Gold .22-250 is a good all-purpose load and is loaded with a 50-grain Hornady V-Max bullet. It has a 3,700 fps velocity and 1,520 ft.-lbs. of energy. The G1 ballistic coefficient is .242.
Is it any wonder the .308 Winchester has long been a favorite long-range cartridge for snipers and other shooters for years? It’s not only widely available; the venerable .308 is also factory loaded with a range of bullet sizes and styles. Many of them use the highest-quality components and offer outstanding performance at mind-blowing distances.
Federal Premium’s Gold Medal Berger .308 rounds use a 185-grain Berger Juggernaut OTM bullet, Gold Medal match primers and a specially formulated powder for total consistency and accuracy. It has a BC of .552 and a muzzle velocity of 2,600 fps.
Winchester introduced this powerful belted cartridge in 1963, and it quickly gained a loyal following with hunters and target shooters alike. It’s a popular round at long-range matches, and it’s well suited for a variety of long-range hunting situations, particularly for large-sized game.
Hornady’s Match .300 Win. Mag. ammo is loaded with the highest-quality components, including 178-grain ELD match bullets. They have a BC of .547, a muzzle velocity of 2,960 fps and 3,463 ft.-lbs. of energy.
Just how good is the .338 Lapua? In the hands of a skilled shooter, it’s unbeatable. It was used to make one of the longest confirmed sniper kills in combat, an astonishing 2,707-yarder. The shooter was not using factory ammo, but it’s certainly a testament to the effectiveness of this cartridge, which was originally designed for the US military in the 1980s. It’s become quite popular among long-range civilian shooters, too, and a number of rifle makers are offering high-quality guns at relatively affordable prices.
Hornady makes a match bullet that is tough to beat on the range. The 250-grain BTHP has a BC of .670 and a muzzle velocity of 2,860 fps.
At one time, the .300 Weatherby was the most powerful .30-caliber magnum available to consumers. Introduced by Roy Weatherby in 1944, it held that title until Remington developed the .300 RUM. Despite losing that superlative, the .300 Weatherby Magnum is still a highly effective round for long-distance shooting on the range or in the field, and it remains Weatherby’s most popular brand-named cartridge.
HSM’s Trophy Gold .300 Weatherby Magnum has a 185-grain Berger Match Hunting VLD bullet with a BC of .558.
Few recently introduced cartridges have garnered so much attention in the shooting world as the 6.5 Creedmoor. It has done so for good reason. Hornady’s 2007 modification of the oft-forgotten .30 TC was designed specifically for precision target shooting. It quickly became a common sight at matches. It has since become a popular hunting caliber, too, and is available in a wide range of rifle makes and models.
A number of ammo manufacturers offer high-quality long-range 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, including Barnes. The company’s new VOR-TX LR ammo is ideal for hunting and is loaded with Barnes’ all-copper LRX bullets. The 6.5 Creedmoor uses a 127-grain boat-tail bullet with a BC of .468.
If there’s a common theme with long-range shooters and at long-range shooting competitions, it’s the 6.5mm. Whether it’s the Creedmoor, the 26 Nosler or a host of other 6.5s, there are lots of choices. There’s obviously a good reason for that. It’s a great, mid-sized bullet that offers some great characteristics: light recoil, super-fast bullets, flat trajectories and high ballistic coefficients. The 6.5-284 Norma is all of those and more. Originally a wildcat cartridge based on the .284 Winchester, the 6.5-284 is not as popular as a few other 6.5s, so factory ammo choices are not as abundant. Just a few brands are available.
Nosler’s Match Grade ammo is loaded with a 140-grain Custom Competition HPBT bullet. It has a muzzle velocity of 2,750 fps and 2,350 ft.-lbs. of energy. The BC is .529.
Did the world need another 6.5 option? One look at the numbers of the 26 Nosler, and the answer is obvious. Introduced just a few years ago, it is a blazing-fast, super-flat, sweet-shooting cartridge that may be one of the best long-range cartridges ever. Since it is Nosler’s own cartridge, the Bend, Ore., company is one of just a handful of manufacturers offering factory-loaded ammo.
The good news is that Nosler has fine-tuned the bullet, powder, primer and case to make a near-perfect round. The Match ammo is loaded with a 140-grain Custom Competition HPBT bullet, which has a BC of .529. Rifles are also limited to a handful of manufacturers, including Nosler, but as the cartridge grows in popularity, so will the gun options.
It’s not necessarily a go-to round for match shooters, but the 7mm Rem. Mag. does have excellent ballistics, along with a number of great options for reaching targets at ranges exceeding 500 yards. It also has a great selection of bullet weights and styles. That’s why it ranks high for long-range target shooting and hunting. Introduced in 1962, this belted cartridge also has less recoil than a .300 Win. Mag. — while offering nearly similar ballistics.
Black Hills offers a good long-range load in its Gold ammo with a 154-grain Hornady SST bullet. The BC is .530, and the muzzle velocity is 3,000 fps.
As its name implies, the 6mm Bench Rest is a top choice among match shooters, scoring high in long- and medium-range competitions worldwide. It’s incredibly accurate, it has minimum recoil, and it’s available in a wide variety of bullets for handloaders.
Factory ammo? Not so much. Just a few options are available, but most all of them are made with precision shooters in mind. Norma uses 105-grain moly-coated Berger hollow points, which have a BC of .517.
Looking for a scattergun on the smaller side? Here we discuss .410 bore’s usefulness and look at the best .410 shotguns on the market.
The humble .410 shotgun is maligned as being too puny for the purposes other, larger gauges excel at, but it's closer to the truth to say that it's been misused and misunderstood. Approached properly, it fills some roles and does so very well.
So, let's talk about the best uses of .410 shotguns and look at the top models currently on the market.
Is A .410 Shotgun Worth Owning?
The .410 shotgun has a place, but where people go wrong is when they use a little shotgun for big shotgun things. Where the .410 shines is taking small game or pests at modest distances or as a youth/smaller shooter's hunting shotgun.
Pest control is exactly what it was invented for.
The .410 bore was developed in the 1850s by the Eley Brothers company in the U.K., and yes that company is the same Eley that produces match-grade rimfire ammo today.
The original load was a 2-inch shell with a light birdshot load, with the original gun being a lightweight single-shot break action “garden gun” intended for dealing with garden pests and maybe a bit of small game hunting at close range.
A .410 Snake Charmer.
What the .410 Shotgun Does Well
The .410's recoil is mild (often 10 foot-pounds or less) and the slimmer, lighter nature of the shotguns makes them much handier than a 12-gauge. It's an easier gun to run, especially for smaller people, but the issue has always been that it typically patterns erratically after 20 to 25 yards with poor shot density.
Approached thusly, it has a role, though a more limited one compared to other bore diameters. As stated, the .410 works well as a pest-control option and with the improvement in loads has seen a resurgence among turkey hunters.
The .410/.45 Colt revolvers are a good choice for pests like snakes, rats, squirrels, raccoons, coyotes and so on, but frankly leave much to be desired as a fighting revolver. The ability to fire shot shells is often marketed as some sort of tactical advantage, but frankly, it isn’t. For defense against humans, a good .45 Colt bullet will always be a better choice than even a defensive .410 load.
So, .410 does well within its niche. The question is if that niche applies to you.
.410 Ammunition And Ballistics
The typical light target load of .410 is a 2 ½-inch shell with a ½-ounce payload (typically 175 pellets) of #7-½ shot at somewhere around 1,300 fps.
By contrast, the target load of the other classic youth/women's shotgun—the 20-gauge—puts a ⅞-ounce load of #7-½ shot in a 2 ¾-inch shell at roughly the same velocity, which is typically 306 pellets.
From left to right: .45 ACP, .410, 20-gauge, 12-gauge. Photo: Wikipedia.
The 3-inch .410 shells can go up to 11/16 ounces of #7-½ birdshot (241 pellets is standard) which is more useful as sue to a greater pattern density. the .410 has classically suffered from inconsistent patterns and low pattern density beyond about 20 yards, and this is also why many .410 shotguns come with a full choke barrel to maximize effective range.
Few commercial loads exist in shot sizes between #6 birdshot and 000 buckshot, though some #4 and BB loads are out there. There just isn't enough space in the shell for very many pellets.
A typical .410 buckshot load is three to four pellets of 000 at 1,300 fps out of a full-length (usually an 18- to 20-inch) barrel. The classic 2 ¾-inch 12-gauge load is 9 pellets of 00 buck at 1,325 fps.
That said, .410 slugs redeem it little.
A typical .410 slug is a ¼-ounce (~110-grain) projectile in a 3-inch shell, loaded to around 1,750 fps and 780 foot-pounds of energy. And that's when using a gun with a long barrel. Once you get to the revolvers, it becomes even less impressive.
.410 revolver barrel lengths vary, but from a 3-inch barrel, birdshot tends to exit with a muzzle velocity of 750 to 900 fps depending on the load. .45 Colt tends to leave the muzzle at somewhere between 700 fps and 900 fps, again load-dependent.
As for personal defense,.410 is viable but not optimal. It's something that can serve in that role if it’s the only gun you have, but it’s not something you should go out and buy for that specific purpose.
Winchester PDX1 410 Defender.
Defense loads for .410—optimized for both short and long barrels—are available, such as those by Hornady and Winchester. Hornady puts a .41-caliber FTX bullet over two 000 pellets, and Winchester stacks 3 plated “defense disks” over 12 plated BBs. Those, and of course good quality .45 Colt loads, are certainly capable of stopping a threat.
In short, .410 is deficient compared to larger shotgun gauges if you're trying to press it into a role that it was never designed for. It’s a snake-stopper, not a man-stopper or even a deer-stopper (the latter has been done with good shot placement, but it’s not recommended). Pest control and certain types of small game hunting are about the only areas where a .410 shotgun may be the best choice. If you’re in the market for one for any reason besides those two roles, it’s time to consider something else.
What Kinds Of .410 Shotguns Are Out There?
Break-Actions
The break-action single-shot is what .410 was originally made for, and they are still common, very affordable and perfect for shorter-range small game hunting and pest control. Over/under and side-by-side .410s are plentiful as well and available at every imaginable price point.
Something like this is probably what makes the most sense for someone in the market for a .410 shotgun. They’re not fancy or tactical, but for “garden gun” purposes it’s all you need.
Pump-Action
.410 pump-actions are also relatively common and are made by several companies that make pump-action shotguns in the more common gauge sizes.
For most “garden gun” utility purposes, a pump-action is overkill, but it could make sense for pest control if there’s more than one critter in need of dispatching. One could also make a great dedicated hunting gun for a youth or for going after certain types of small game or turkey hunters concerned about fast follow-up shots.
Lever-Action
At least a few different companies have made .410 lever-action shotguns over the years as well, and new production options are still available on the market today.
A lever-action .410 generally has the same advantages as a pump, namely a larger magazine capacity and a faster potential fire rate, but with a little more cowboy flair. These could also be used for pest control or hunting, but quality ammo options are more limited since these generally only accept 2 ½-inch shells.
Semi-Autos
Semi-auto shotguns chambered in .410 also exist, but there are fewer options. Some reputable American manufacturers have offered a .410 chambering for their semi-auto guns, but most of what’s on the market today are cheap imports. Of those, some are more traditional, but most are tactically styled magazine-fed models. Those are typically either bullpup designs or patterned after AR-15s. One higher quality semi-auto .410 shotgun is the AK-based Saiga, but those are no longer imported and would need to be bought on the second-hand market.
A reliable semi-auto could also be used for pest control or small game hunting of course, but the higher potential fire rate will usually not prove useful enough to justify the higher cost. Speaking of cost, despite its size, .410 ammo isn’t cheap. The current market has the cheapest loads sitting around 50 cents per shot, so it’s not a great choice for mag-dumping into trash either.
Combination Guns
It’s also worth mentioning that some combination survival guns, such as the USAF-adopted M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon, have been made as well. These usually feature one single-shot barrel for .410 and another for something like .22LR or .22 Hornet.
The M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon, featuring one .410 barrel and one .22 Hornet barrel. Photo: Wikipedia.
This probably isn’t the most useful concept for most people, but if you’re some sort of bush pilot or even a serious backpacker, it may make sense. A few different models are still in production.
Handguns
And, of course, there are .410/.45 Colt revolvers such as the Taurus Judge line and the S&W Governor as well as some .410/.45 Colt derringers.
If you want a derringer for defense, there are better chambering options to get one in, and the same goes for revolvers. However, it’s hard to argue with the conveniently small size of a handgun. If you live somewhere with a lot of rattlesnakes, for instance, one of these would make a great choice for toting around your property.
How We Made Our Choices
When it comes to .410 shotguns, the easiest way to separate the wheat from the chaff is by simply looking at the manufacturer. While Turkey does produce some fine shotguns today, most imported .410 options appear to be lower quality than what’s available from companies like Mossberg or Browning. Further, many of the options on the market are tacticool semi-auto guns that we believe serve no useful purpose. When it comes to practical applications, our time spent behind shotguns of different gauges, makes and models led us to these five picks. There are other great options out there, but for simple pest control or hunting, you can’t go wrong with one of these.
The Stevens 301 is an inexpensive single-shot with a 3-inch chamber and a 26-inch barrel that's threaded for Winchester chokes. They make a basic model as well as several Turkey models (pictured) that have a camo synthetic stock and a Picatinny rail for mounting optics for a bit more money.
Ruthlessly simple, very inexpensive and perfect for doing basic .410 tasks like pest control around the house.
Adjustable length of pull is great for growing youths
Capacity
Cons
Expensive as .410 youth guns go
Mossberg's Bantam series of youth shotguns downsize the gun just enough for younger/smaller shooters to get started on this workhorse pump-action. The 500 Bantam in .410 comes with an 18.5-inch vent rib barrel with a fixed modified choke, dual-bead sights, a 2+1 capacity and an adjustable length of pull. It's offered in black with synthetic furniture or with a camo finish for some extra cash.
Very handy and compact, can be carried in a holster
Optics-ready models available
Cons
Short barrel means worse ballistic performance
The Taurus Judge Magnum models have a 3-inch cylinder with a 5-shot capacity and a 3-inch barrel, opening up your ammunition choices and making this beast of a handgun a tad more versatile. All models have a fiber optic front sight, making them much more usable. You have your choice of black oxide or a stainless steel finish and T.O.R.O. models are now available if you want to mount a red dot.
For the Mossberg SA-410, probably the nicest semi-auto .410 currently in production, you have a choice between the black synthetic Field model or the camo-dipped Turkey model. Both come with 26-inch vent rib barrels with 3-inch chambers and threading for chokes. The Turkey model adds a rib-mounted fiber optic sight set and a Picatinny rail for adding an optic. Capacity is 4+1.
Perfect for the discerning sport shooter or bird hunter
Cons
VERY expensive
The Browning Citori is one of the standards by which all O/Us are judged. Offered with 3-inch chambers with either 30- or 32-inch barrels, the Citori 725 Sporting has ported barrels to tame recoil, choke threads (S, IC, M, IM, F included), a fiber optic front sight, Browning's time-tested Citori action and Browning's tuned FireLite trigger.
It’s optimized for skeet and trap, but equally at home in the field. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more capable O/U with the same versatility and build quality. The MSRP is very high, but you get what you pay for.
Want realistic practice without damaging your gun’s firing pin? Here we take a look at Otis Snap Caps.
A lot of firearm designs have robust firing pins—but not all. Finding out the hard way is … well … hard. Still, even when I gunsmithed for a living, it felt wrong to dry-fire on an empty chamber using the firearms I knew to be robust. I ended up making my own snap caps with silicone goo in the primer pocket of fired and deprimed cases, with no powder but bullets in them. (I epoxied the bullets in place after I used them a bunch.)
Most snap caps have a short service life. The all-plastic ones usually break at the rim after even a modicum of use. The firing pin impact doesn’t help there, either. Ideal ones would be all-brass or copper, lathe-turned to shape and fitted with spring-loaded primers. Can you say $20 a shell at least? Ouch. Otis, to no great surprise, comes to our rescue here. Their PRO+ Snap Caps are mostly aluminum, because that’s an inexpensive and reasonably durable (when used properly) material. But what about the rims? Oh, the rims are made of brass. The body is lathe-turned out of aluminum and then anodized red, so it shows up among all the other rounds you might have. The rims are lathe-turned brass, so they won’t break like plastic nor wear your extractor excessively like steel. The two are then assembled into the appearance of a cartridge for your use.
Being made of aluminum also helps in feeding dynamics. Sometimes you need to dry-fire to check a trigger pull. I did that a lot back in the old days, and snap caps take a beating during that process. The other method is the “ball and dummy” drill. That’s a range drill where a friend loads your magazines and randomly includes a dummy round, or snap cap, in the magazine. You have to deal with the “click instead of a bang” situation when engaging the targets.
In this use, the Otis aluminum PRO+ Snap Caps will feed much more like a live round than plastic ones. And, as a bonus, the primer-like part is spring-loaded to soften the impact for the firing pin even more.
Otis offers them in .380, 9mm and .45 ACP, which are sized for most carry guns in use these days. A package of five snap caps has a list price of $25, which is $5 per unit. That might seem like a lot, but considering they’ll continue to work and not break (until you lose them), the per-unit cost is a lot less than the cheap plastic ones I remember from the not-so-good ol’ days.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2022 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Century Arms has just announced the Centurion 14, a Browning Hi-Power clone with the lowest price tag on the market.
The past few years have seen a resurgence in popularity of the Browning Hi-Power. Girsan has released a slew of classic clones and modernized models, Springfield Armory launched its SA-35 and even FN itself came out with a completely modernized, BHP-inspired High Power. All of these 9mm pistols have their pros and cons, but even the most affordable among them has an MSRP approaching $600. What the market was missing was a basic clone at a low price, and that’s where Century Arms’ new Centurion 14 comes in.
As a true clone, there aren’t many features to speak of if you’re already familiar with the original Browning Hi-Power. As such, the Centurion 14 is a 9mm single-action-only pistol with a double-stack 15-round magazine and a 4.66-inch barrel. It features a ring hammer, Novak-style 3-dot sights, a black polymer grip and the newer style of external extractor. Compared to a lot of the clones to hit the market recently, that’s a pretty plain Jane Hi-Power, but that’s all that a lot of people want. According to the slide markings, the pistols are made by Alpharms in Turkey.
As mentioned, the main draw of the Centurion 14 is its price, as it has a stunningly low MSRP of just $409.99. Each pistol will ship with a magazine, a hard case and some cleaning supplies.
We test today’s top .22LR hunting ammo for precision, velocity, cost and terminal performance.
Not too long ago, I tested 20 different loads of .22LR ammo to see which one would deliver the most precision on target out of my favorite .22 rifle. I was astonished to discover that the best shooting load was designed for small game hunting. In fact, five of the seven most precise shooting loads from my rifle were suitable for small game hunting. This got me to wondering how these same loads might shoot in other rifles, so another test was conducted.
I took those five good-shooting hunting loads and tested them in two other rifles. Like with my favorite rifle, I fired five, five-shot groups at 50 yards with each load out of each rifle. And I also—just like the test with my rifle—chronographed the first 10 shots fired with each load. My rifle (Rifle 1) is a New Ultra Light Arms single-shot with a Douglas Barrel and a Timney trigger. Rifle 2 was a custom 10-22 with a Green Mountain barrel and a Timney trigger. And the third rifle (Rifle 3) was a box-stock Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22. Each rifle was outfitted with a riflescope set at a magnification of 6X.
Out of 20 loads tested in the author’s favorite .22, these were five of the top seven best-shooting loads.
The most precise-shooting load overall was the best-shooting load out of only one of the rifles. In fact, it was the worst shooting load out of my rifle. This was a bit surprising since my rifle—on average—produced groups that were about 40 percent smaller than the other two rifles. This clearly illustrates that rimfire rifles are finicky creatures. Just because one rifle prefers a certain load doesn’t mean another rifle will. As you can see, each rifle had its favorite.
Velocity
Conventional wisdom suggests that rimfire ammunition producing consistent velocities will also produce good precision. Out of my rifle (Rifle 1), the most consistent velocity was registered by CCI’s 40-grain LFB (lead flat-nose) SGB (small game bullet). However, from a precision standpoint, it came in fourth. The load with the least consistent velocity out of my rifle was the 40-grain, CCI Mini-Mag Segmented HP (hollow-point) load. It was the most accurate. This would suggest that conventional wisdom doesn’t apply.
CCI’s Small Game Bullet (SGB) is a non-deforming bullet with a flat nose. It penetrates deeply, but tissue damage is limited.
On the other hand, when all the rifles were considered, the most precise shooting load was the 38-grain Federal American Eagle load. If the average velocity consistency from all three rifles is compared, this load also performed the best. The load that delivered the least consistent velocities across all three rifles was the Winchester Hyper Velocity 40-grain CPHP (copper-plated hollow-point) load. It ranked fourth in terms of average precision. This would seem to suggest that, at least when multiple rifles are considered, velocity consistency does influence precision.
Though this Winchester load didn’t shoot the best out of the three test rifles, terminal performance was exceptional.
Another comment regarding velocity is worth making. Rarely, if ever, do actual velocities meet or exceed advertised velocities, and that was proven in this test. However, the differences were very consistent. When all five loads and all three rifles were considered, the average difference in advertised and actual velocities was only 33 fps. Just as interesting was that the range of variance was only 12 fps. This means you can expect your actual velocities to be less than advertised, but reasonably close.
VELOCITY
LOAD
ADV (fps)
AMV (fps)
AVD (fps)
ASD (fps)
AES (fps)
Federal American Eagle 38-grain CPHP
1,260
1,224
36
16
53
CCI Mini-Mag 40-grain Segmented HP
1,235
1,206
29
17
59
Federal Champion 36-grain CPHP
1,260
1,233
27
18
54
CCI 40-grain LFN SGB
1,235
1,203
32
19
63
Winchester 40-grain Hyper Velocity CPHP
1,435
1,396
39
24
71
AVERAGES
33
19
60
NOTES: Reported velocity information was obtained by firing 10 shots with each load, out of three rifles, through a Caldwell G2 chronograph with the screens positioned 10 feet from the muzzle. ADV=advertised velocity, AMV=average actual muzzle velocity, AVD=average difference in advertised velocity and actual average muzzle velocity, ASD=average standard velocity deviation, AES=average velocity extreme spread.
Cost
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been told that the best shooting .22 Long Rifle loads cost the most. If you’re shopping for .22LR ammo and your primary concern is precision, most likely you’ll purchase the most expensive load, hoping to find that precision. Out of the 20 loads I originally tested in my rifle, this wasn’t the case. The two most expensive loads ranked 13th and 14th in terms of precision.
One of the least expensive .22 Long Rifle loads you can buy performed very well from a precision and terminal performance standpoint. Price isn’t always an indicator of performance.
Just looking at the five hunting loads fired out of the three different rifles for this test, one of the least expensive loads, which was the 38-grain Federal American Eagle load, delivered the best precision. Between all three rifles, the most expensive load ranked third in terms of precision. Cost, it’d appear, has little to do with the precision you can expect from .22LR ammo.
COST
LOAD
CPS (cents)
AP (inches)
ASD (fps)
Federal American Eagle 38-grain CPHP
12
1.12
16
CCI Mini-Mag 40-grain Segmented HP
13
1.16
17
Federal Champion 36-grain CPHP
10
1.41
18
CCI 40-grain LFN SGB
22
1.31
19
Winchester 40-grain Hyper Velocity CPHP
15
1.36
24
AVERAGES
14
1.27
19
NOTES: Reported CPS (cost per shot) is based on current advertised pricing and rounded to the nearest cent. AP (Average Precision) represents the average precision for five, five-shot groups fired with each rifle with each load from a sandbag rest at 50 yards. ASD (average standard velocity deviation) was obtained by firing 10 shots—with each load and from each rifle—over a Caldwell G2 chronograph with the screens placed 10 feet from the muzzle.
Terminal Performance
All of this is interesting, and while it might suggest that a certain load has the most potential to shoot well from your rifle, there’s no guarantee. As stated, for each rifle there was a different load that delivered the best precision. However, I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that at least one of the five loads that were tested should shoot very well out of your rifle. And precision is important. If you want to head shoot a squirrel at 50 yards, you’ll struggle to do it with a load not capable of shooting groups less than, or at least very close to, 1 inch at that distance.
When it comes to large, small game, terminal performance—how the bullet performs after impact—becomes very critical.
A shot to a squirrel’s head with any bullet fired from a .22 rifle will do the trick, but your small game hunting might include larger critters, such as raccoons, fox, bobcats—and even badgers and coyotes. If that’s the case, head shots will still work, but you’ll likely want a load that’d deliver good terminal performance if a body shot must be taken. With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to compare the terminal performance of these five loads.
Meat hunters like head shots on squirrels. To do that, you need a very precise-shooting load.
For that test, I fired one shot from each load out of each of the rifles into blocks of Clear Ballistics Gel placed at 20 yards. The chart reflects the average of these results. For those who believe kinetic energy matters, the muzzle energy, based on the average velocity of each load from all three rifles, is included as well.
The terminal performance of these five loads was varied. This is a good thing because it gives you some variety based on what you plan to shoot. The CCI Mini-Mag 40-grain Segmented HP is unique in that the bullet breaks into three pieces after penetrating about an inch. Then, the three pieces radiate out from the primary bullet path by about an inch and a half, and then only penetrate to about 6 inches. This load should deliver massive wounding, but of course, penetration will be limited. The other unusual load was the CCI 40-grain LFN SGB. This is a non-deforming bullet designed for maximum penetration, and that’s what you get; it penetrated 14 percent deeper than the next deepest penetrating load.
The three remaining loads penetrated to about a foot, and two of them showed moderate deformation. But surprisingly, the standout load once again was the Federal American Eagle 38-grain CPHP. The bullet from this load deformed with a frontal diameter noticeably larger than the other two. Though this load was one of the least expensive, on average it was the most precise shooting, delivered the most consistent velocities, and arguably the best terminal performance.
The CCI Mini-Mag Varmint was the best-shooting load out of the author’s rifle. It also offers unique terminal performance.
CCI’s Mini-Mag 40-grain Segmented HP proved to be the best shooting load in my rifle. Considering the small game I hunt and this load’s terminal performance, it should do nicely. If I find it on the shelf, I’ll buy in bulk. Given ammo availability right now, you might not be able to assemble a collection of loads to test. That’d for sure be the best course of action. However, whether you can obtain several loads to test or not, I’d strongly suggest you give the very inexpensive American Eagle load a try.
TERMINAL PERFORMANCE
LOAD
ENG (ft-lb)
PEN (in.)
RBD (in.)
RBW (gr.)
CCI Mini-Mag 40-grain Segmented HP
129
6.0
f
37f
Winchester 40-grain Hyper Velocity CPHP
173
11.0
0.297
32
Federal Champion 36-grain CPHP
121
14.0
0.274
37
CCI 40-grain LFN SGB
128
16.0
0.221
40
Federal American Eagle 38-grain CPHP
126
12.5
0.348
38
AVERAGES
135
11.9
0.285
37
NOTES: Reported data was obtained by firing each load into blocks of clear ballistics at 20 yards, one shot from each of the three test rifles. Muzzle energy (ENG) represents an average based on actual muzzle velocities obtained from all three rifles. PEN=average penetration in clear ballistics, RBD=average recovered bullet diameter, RBW=average recovered bullet weight, and f=fragmented.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2022 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
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